Crew

First Class

Allison Family (30, 25, 2, 11 Months)

First ClassStatus: 1 Survived 3 Perished

Ontario Canada born Businessman, Hudson Joshua Creighton Allison, met Bessie Waldo Daniels, a young Irish American girl from Milwaukee Wisconsin on a train in 1907. The two married later that year on Hudson's 26th birthday, Bess had just turned 21.

The Allisons were devout Methodists - they taught Sunday school, Bible Classes, and Hudson often served as a lay preacher. Their daughter, Helen Loraine was born 5 June 1909, and their son, Hudson Trevor on 7 May 1911. The same year they began the Allison Stock Farm near Winchester, Ontario, and built a new house in Westmount, Quebec.

Mr. Allison was on the board of the British Lumber Corporation, and sailed to England for a directors' meeting. While there, they had Trevor baptized at Epworth in the church where Methodist Founder John Wesley had preached. They took a side trip to the Scottish Highlands where Hudson bought two dozen Clydesdales and Hackney Stallions and mares for the stock farm. At the same time, they picked up furniture and recruited household staff for their two residences - George Swane was hired as a chauffeur, Mildred Brown as a cook, Alice Cleaver as a nursemaid for Trevor and Sarah Daniels as a Lady's maid for Bess.

Like many others, the Allisons had altered travel plans to sail back with old friends on Titanic. They paid for three cabins on the Upper Deck. Mr and Mrs Allison were in one suite, Sarah Daniels and Loraine in another and Alice Cleaver and Trevor in the third. The other household servants travelled second class.

When the Titanic struck the iceberg the Allison party was seperated. Bess and Loraine were guided into a lifeboat, but Bess refused to leave the ship without both of her children. With Trevor and his nursemaid Alice unaccounted for she took Loraine off of the boat and went in search of her husband and son.

Unknown to Bessie and Hudson, Trevor had been taken by his nursemaid Alice Cleaver, and the two were saved in lifeboat 11.

Trevor was the only one of the Allison family to survive. He was returned to Canada where he would be raised by his aunt and uncle.

Loraine Allison was the only First Class child to perish in the Sinking of the Titanic, and Bess was one of only four First Class women to die on that tragic night.

Lady Duff Gordon (48)

First ClassStatus: Survived

Lady Duff Gordon (born Lucy Christiana Sutherland) is known as one of the most famous passengers aboard the Titanic. After a divorce in 1888 that left her a penniless single mother, Lucy started a dressmaking business to support herself and her child. Her shop, 'Maison Lucile' was a great success, but fearing that she was not skilled in financial matters she took on Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon as a partner. The two were married in 1900. In 1910 she opened her second branch of Lucile Ltd in New York.

The Duff Gordon's had not planned on sailing on the Titanic, but urgent business in New York forced her to take the first ship available. Accompanying them was Lady Duff-Gordon's maid, Laura Mabel Francatelli. For reasons unknown, they boarded the ship under the psuedonyms Mr and Mrs Morgan.

In her autobiography Lady Duff-Gordon recalls having been awoken by a "funny rumbling noise," claiming "It was like nothing ever heard before. It seemed as if some giant hand had been playing bowls, rolling the great balls along. Then the boat stopped."

The wealthy couple were both allowed in Lifeboat 1 by First Officer Murdoch. There was some controversy over Lifeboat 1, which carried only 12 people despite having a capacity for 40. Several reports dubbed Lifeboat 1 "The Money Boat." It was reported that Cosmo Duff Gordon bribed the men in it to row away from drowning passengers, but this claim has been heavily disputed. William Pusey, a Fireman working on the Titanic who accompanied them in Lifeboat 1 testified at the British Inquiry that Sir Duff-Gordon had offered to reimburse the Lifeboat 1 Crew for the loss of their Kit in the sinking. This was a promise he would fulfil aboard the Carpathia.

"Lady Gordon said to Miss Franks, 'There is your beautiful nightdress gone,' and I said, 'Never mind about your nightdress madam, as long as you have got your life'; and then I heard someone forward at the fore end of me say - I said we had lost our kits and that our pay was stopped from the time she was a wreck - 'We will give you a little to start a new kit.' That was all I heard."

It is likely that this action was interpreted by some as a bribe.

The Duff Gordon's also testified at the British Inquiry; they were the only passengers called to testify.

Victor Gaitan Andrea Giglio (23)

First Class (servant)Status: Perished

Mr Victor Gaitan Andrea Giglio was born in Toxteth Park, Liverpool, England on 17th June 1888 the son of Italian cotton merchant Frederici Josephi (Frederick Joseph) Giglio and his Egyptian wife Despina Sepse. In 1910 he was listed as a passenger arriving in New York aboard the White Star Liner Teutonic. He had no occupation and had paid his own passage. Little is known of Victor's life or how he came to be employed by one of America's richest men, but in January of 1912 he was listed as the valet (a secretary or personal assistant) to Mr Benjamin Guggenheim, a prominant businessman. The two embarked on the Titanic under the same First Class ticket, while Mr Guggenheim's chauffeur travelled Second Class.

It was documented that after the collision Bedroom Steward Henry Samuel Etches helped Mr Guggenheim into his lifebelt and sent him to the Boat Deck with Giglio, where the two helped women and children into lifeboats. However, the two soon returned to their cabin. Both Giglio and his employer then proceeded to change into their finest evening wear. Mr Guggenheim was later heard to remark "We've dressed up in our best and are prepared to go down like gentleman." He also gave Etches (who survived) a message to his wife saying, "Tell my wife, if it should happen that my secretary and I both go down, tell her I played the game out straight to the end. No woman shall be left aboard this ship because Ben Guggenheim is a coward."

Giglio and Guggenheim were last seen seated in deck chairs in the foyer of the Grand Staircase, sipping brandy and smoking cigars.

Charles Melville Hays (55)

Charles Melville Hays was born at Rock Island Illinois on 16 May 1856 and went to work for the Atlantic and Pacific Railway when he was 17. In 1881 he married Clara Gregg, and they had four daughters.

In 1896 he moved to Montreal to become general manager of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. It was Hays who convinced the canadian Prime Minister, Sir Wilfred Laurier, of the need for a second transcontinental railroad. The company's board of directors in England, however, were more concerned with dividends than with risky expansion. Financing proved chaotic, and at the end of 1911 the railroad was 100-million in debt. Hays went to England, along with his wife, for a directors meeting to propose a plan to prevent the company's bankruptcy. According to Alfred Smithers, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Charles arrived in England "looking fagged and tired." The couple were supposed to spend Easter in Paris with their daughter Orian and son in law Thornton, but in a letter to friends on April 1, said he preferred to stay at Smithers country estate in Kent before all four sailing back to America on the Titanic on April 10th.

In his business dealings Hays had had discussions with the White Star Line about speeding travellers from Europe to the Orient using White Star ships and his transcontinental railroad. As a result, J. Bruce Ismay invited Hays and his entourage as guests aboard Titanic.

One hour before the disaster, Hays relaxed with Colonel Archibald Gracie and Captain Edward Crosby in the Gentlemen's Smoking Lounge and they talked about the technological advances in transportation. At one point, Hays conceded that while Titanic was a superlative vessel, he expressed concern that "the trend to playing fast and loose with larger and larger ships will end in tragedy." Twenty minutes later, Titanic struck the iceburg. Hays never believed the ship would sink quickly. As he put his wife and daughter into a lifeboat he assured them Titanic would stay "afloat for at least 10 hours."

Charles perished in the sinking, but his wife and daughter survived, Clara lived to be 95 and Orian to be 96.

Wehn asked to sue the White STar Line for damages, Clara Hays imperiously replied, "When one is a guest, one does not sue one's host."

Leila Meyer (Née Saks) (25)

First ClassStatus: Survived

Mrs Edgar Joseph Meyer (Leila Saks) was born as Leila Saks in Baltimore, Maryland on 28 September 1886. Leila was married in 1909 to Edgar Joseph Meyer (b. 1884), a native of San Francisco. The couple had one daughter, Jane, born in May 1911.

Residents of Manhattan, Mr and Mrs Meyer boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg as first class passengers. Leila's father Andrew had died two days before sailing on 8 April 1912 following a protracted illness and the decision to travel on Titanic was a hastily arranged affair following notification of his death.

Leila was rescued in lifeboat 6, but her husband perished in the disaster. Mrs Meyer later recalled:
"I tried and tried to get Edgar to come into the lifeboat with me, and pleaded to be allowed to stay behind and wait until he could leave, he not caring to leave before all the women had been saved. Mr. Meyer finally persuaded me to leave, reminding me of our one-year-old child at home. I entered the lifeboat and watched until the Titanic sank, but only for a short time did I see my husband standing beside the rail and assisting other women into boats in which he might have been saved."

Marjorie Newell (23)

Miss Marjorie Newell, 23, was born on 12 February 1889 in Lexington, Massachusetts the daughter of Arthur Webster Newell and Mary E. Greeley.

Marjorie was returning from a trip to the Middle East with her father and her sister, Madeleine Newell. They boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg.

When the Titanic struck the iceberg Marjorie was awakened by a sudden vibration. Her father came to the room and ordered his daughters to dress and go out on deck. After seeing one lifeboat safely launched, he placed them in the next (lifeboat 6). Marjorie and her sister survived the sinking, but their father was lost. His last words to Marjorie were, "It does seem more dangerous for you to get into that boat than to remain here with me here but we must obey orders." Marjorie last saw her father standing back helping other women in the boat.

Marjorie Newell married Floyd Robb in 1917, and raised four children (three daughters and one son). Her son was named Arthur Newell Robb in memory of her father. She went on to become a music instructor at Wells College in Aurora, N.Y. Later she lived in South Orange, N.J., where she taught violin and piano. She eventually became one of the founders of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Mrs Robb later returned to Massachusetts living first in Westport Point and moving to Fall River in 1990.

In her final years, after her mother and sisters had passed away, Marjorie began to speak of the night to remember. At the incredible age of 97, she addressed audiences of Titanic researchers and historians and regaled them with her memories of the Titanic's final hours. "I'll never forget the screams of the drowning. It was absolutely terrible." She would lose her composure and close her eyes as she looked back in her past. Her reason for speaking about the event was done mainly out of respect and honor for her lost father. His final moments and bravery never left Marjorie's memory.

Marjorie lived to 103, and was the last remaining first class survivor of the Titanic.

Charles Emil Henry Stengel (54)

First ClassStatus: Survived

Mr Charles Emil Henry Stengel, was born 19 November 1857 in Newark, N. J. Charles Stengel was in the leather trade and lived and worked in Newark. He boarded the Titanic, with his wife Annie May at Cherbourg.

In an interview, Mr Stengel said he and his wife retired at 10 o'clock on Sunday evening. He said the impact jarred him awake but he did not believe it was anything more than a dropped propeller.
After seeing his wife into Lifeboat 5 he went forward to where Emergency Lifeboat 1 was being loaded. Because of the high bulwark railing, he said he had to "roll in" to the boat, causing First Officer Murdoch to say, "This is the funniest thing I've seen all night."

Walter Lord recounts in The Night Lives On how Stengel, while sailing to New York on board the Carpathia came across the gambler George Bradley aka "Brayton". It is possible that they had met before, perhaps at the card table on Titanic. Bradley appeared depressed and told Stengel that all his money was gone. Stengel advised him to claim the cost of his fare from the White Star Line and the two men then parted. After the Carpathia docked Stengel got a telephone call from Bradley to say that the idea had worked, that White Star would fund his passage to Los Angeles, and he would be leaving very soon. Stengel invited Bradley to dinner at his family home in New Jersey. At the Stengel's home Bradley told Stengel that his brother-in-law, who worked for Western Union, would soon be concluding a deal in New York in which Stengel might be interested. A few weeks later Stengel went to New York where he Bradley and the brother-in-law met at the Hotel Seville. He was told that the Brother in law would be able to fix the transmission of horse racing results for a few minutes thus enabling bets to be made after the result was known. Stengel could come in for $1000. Stengel was clearly not interested and the discussion ended in a scuffle, although the con-men escaped before the police arrived.

George A, Brereton (37)

Mr George Andrew Brereton (aka Andrew Bradley, Andrew Brayton, etc.) was born on 12 November 1874 in Medelia, Minnesota.

He boarded the Titanic at Southampton. He was travelling under the alias Mr George Arthur Brayton.

'Brayton' (a professional gambler) had been in the First Class smoking room stalking a victim when the ship struck. He survived the sinking, and even after the disaster, while travelling on the Carpathia back to New York, Brayton was still at work. He met another First Class passenger Charles Stengel on deck and after their return to New York attempted to involve him in a horse racing scam.

Walter Lord recounts in The Night Lives On how Stengel, while sailing to New York on board the Carpathia came across the gambler George Bradley aka "Brayton". It is possible that they had met before, perhaps at the card table on Titanic. Bradley appeared depressed and told Stengel that all his money was gone. Stengel advised him to claim the cost of his fare from the White Star Line and the two men then parted. After the Carpathia docked Stengel got a telephone call from Bradley to say that the idea had worked, that White Star would fund his passage to Los Angeles, and he would be leaving very soon. Stengel invited Bradley to dinner at his family home in New Jersey. At the Stengel's home Bradley told Stengel that his brother-in-law, who worked for Western Union, would soon be concluding a deal in New York in which Stengel might be interested. A few weeks later Stengel went to New York where he Bradley and the brother-in-law met at the Hotel Seville. He was told that the Brother in law would be able to fix the transmission of horse racing results for a few minutes thus enabling bets to be made after the result was known. Stengel could come in for $1000. Stengel was clearly not interested and the discussion ended in a scuffle, although the con-men escaped before the police arrived.

Gertrude "Jean" Isabelle Hippach (17)

First ClassStatus: Survived

Miss Gertrude Isabelle Hippach, better known as Jean, was born in Chicago, Illinois on 1 October 1894. She was the daughter of Louis Albert and Ida Sophia Hippach. She had three brothers: Robert Louis (b. 1889), Albert Archibald (b. 1891) and Howard Henry (b. 1896).

Tragedy struck in 1903 when Jean's two elder brothers had went to a matinee performance of the musical Mr Bluebird at Chicago's Iroquois Theatre. During the show, sparks from an arc light ignited a curtain and a fire soon spread with all attempts to extinguish it futile. The 1500 capacity theatre had an estimated 2200 persons that day, and the scene soon diminished into chaos. An estimated 575 people died that day, Robert and Archibald Hippach among them.

A frequent traveller, Jean had been abroad in Europe with her mother since January 1912. For their return to America they boarded Titanic at Cherbourg as first class passengers. They later claimed they had not wanted to board the ship, not trusting a maiden voyage, but White Star employees had told them that there was only one First Class cabin left, implying that everyone wanted to go on the ship. They felt lucky to get their ticket, only to discover that the ship was only partially full. "Everyone was saying Sunday evening that we were ahead of schedule and that we would break the records," Mrs Hippach later recalled.

Jean and her mother were asleep when the Titanic struck the iceberg but the shock was so mild, Mrs Hippach recalled, that Jean slept through it and continued to do so until the roar of the steam escaping through the funnels woke her. They put on their wraps and rushed out into the corridor and heard everybody asking, "What is that? Did you hear that?" Jean and her mother came onto deck as they were lowering a lifeboat. They thought they would be safer on the Titanic, so didn't get into one of the earlier boats. They were walking by Lifeboat 4 as it was being loaded and Colonel Astor told them to get in, although he said there was no danger; she would later credit him for saving her life. Jean and her mother clambered through the windows and entered the boat, finding that it had a couple of sailors. The women had to help row away from the Titanic and from their position, about 450 feet from the ship, they heard a "fearful explosion" and watched it split apart. Jean would later recall the night sky which was filled with stars and she also commented on the large number of shooting stars she witnessed.

By April 17 the Chicago papers announced their rescue. Her father and brother hastened to New York to meet the Hippach women. They arrived in Chicago on 21 April 1912 aboard the Twentieth Century Limited.

Margaretta Corning Spedden (39)

First ClassStatus: Survived

Mrs Frederic Oakley Spedden (Margaretta Corning Stone) known as "Daisy" was born in 1872 in Morristown, New Jersey. She lived, with her husband Frederic and son Douglas at Wee Wah Lodge in Tuxedo Park, NY.

Daisy enjoyed photography and travelling and kept detailed diaries of their journeys overseas.

In late 1911 the Speddens sailed for Algiers on the Caronia. From Algiers the family moved on to Monte Carlo and then to Paris. In April 1912, at the end of their European holiday, the Speddens and their servants boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg for the return home.

Margaretta, Frederic, and their son Douglas, who was only six years old at the time, all survived the sinking in Lifeboat 3.

The year after their experience on the Titanic Daisy wrote and illustrated a small storybook that she gave to her son Douglas for Christmas. "My Story" was told through the eyes of a toy bear, and describes the European travels, the sinking of the Titanic and the subsequent rescue. After many years, the storybook was found in a trunk by Leighton H. Coleman III, a relative of Spedden's, and he decided to have it published. The story was edited by Hugh Brewster of Madison Books in Toronto, Ontario, and Canadian artist Laurie McGaw was chosen to illustrate the book in watercolours.[8] Coleman wrote an introduction explaining how the story came about.[1] Some of Spedden's photographs and pictures of Titanic souvenirs were also used as illustrations. Madison Books published the first edition in 1994.

John Borland JR Thayer (17)

Mr John Borland ("Jack") Thayer Jr., 17, was born December 24, 1894, the son of Marian and John Borland Thayer. They lived in Haverford, PA. The family boarded the Titanic as first class passengers.

John Thayer was in bed, and Jack and his mother were preparing for bed when Jack noticed the breeze through his half-open porthole stop. He remembered no significant shock and did not lose his balance. Pulling an overcoat over his pajamas he called to his parents that he was 'going out to see the fun.' He went towards the bow where, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out ice on the forward well deck. He returned to the stateroom to get his parents. They stayed together until the order was given for women and children to board the boats. Jack and his father said good-bye to Marian at the top of the grand staircase on A-Deck. Thinking that Marian was safe on board a boat the two men were surprised to learn from Chief Second Steward George Dodd that she was still on board.

Reunited, John and Marion Thayer went on ahead to find a boat. Jack lagged behind and finally lost them, perhaps he was talking to his friend Milton Long whom Jack had met for the first time, over coffee that evening and who had attached himself to the Thayers; or perhaps he just got caught up in the crowd. He searched for them for a while, but then, thinking they had probably escaped in a boat he went forward on the starboard side accompanied by Milton Long. As the ship sank deeper and more rapidly Jack thought about jumping for it as others appeared to be doing towards the stern, after all, he was a strong swimmer. However Long was not and persuaded Jack against it.

Eventualy, however, they could wait no more and after saying goodbye to each other they jumped up on the rail. Long put his legs over and held on a minute and said 'You are coming, boy, aren't you?' Jack replied 'Go ahead, I'll be with you in a minute.' Long then slid down the side of the ship. Jack never saw him again. him again. A short while later Jack jumped out, feet first.

Algernon Barkworth, another surviver, recalled seeing Young Jack Thayer:
"I did not know the Thayer family well," declared Mr Barkworth, "but I had met young Thayer, a clear-cut chap, and his father on the trip. The lad and I struggled in the water for several hours endeavoring to hold afloat by grabbing to the sides and end of an overturned life-boat. Now and again we lost our grip and fell back into the water. I did not recognize young Thayer in the darkness, as we struggled for our lives, but I did recall having met him before when we were picked up by a life-boat. We were saved by the merest chance, because the survivors on a life-boat that rescued us hesitated in doing so, it seemed, fearing perhaps that additional burdens would swamp the frail craft."

Second Class

Edgar Samuel Andrew (17)

Mr Edgar Samuel Andrew was born in "El Durazno" (San Ambrosio), Province of Córdoba, Argentina, on 28 March 1895, the son of English parents, Samuel and Annie (Robson) Andrew, from Whitby, Yorkshir

On 5 May 1911, Edgar arrived in New York from Argentina on board the Vasari to visit his brother Alfredo. He would then go on to study in Bournemouth, England. A year later he was invited by Alfredo to attend to his wedding in the USA and, eventually, stay for a working position in his fiancée's (Harriet White Fisher) company (Fisher & Norris Anvil Works, of Trenton, New Jersey). He was supposed to board the Oceanic but owing to a coal strike he was forced to change his ticket and go aboard the Titanic instead.

On April 8, 1912, Edgar wrote a moving letter to his friend Josey Cowan from Argentina:
'You figure Josey I had to leave on the 17th this (month) aboard the "Oceanic", but due to the coal strike that steamer cannot depart, so I have to go one week earlier on board the "Titanic". It really seems unbelievable that I have to leave a few days before your arrival, but there's no help for it, I've got to go. You figure, Josey, I am boarding the greatest steamship in the world, but I don't really feel proud of it at all, right now I wish the 'Titanic' were lying at the bottom of the ocean."

On the morning of Wednesday, 10 April 1912, Edgar arrived in Southampton by train and boarded the Titanic as a second-class passenge.

Mrs Florence Agnes Angle (Née Hughes) (36)

Second ClassStatus: Survived

Mrs Florence Angle was born as Florence Agnes Hughes in Radford Semele, Warwickshire, England on 8 March 1876.

Florence was married in her native Warwickshire in late 1906 to William Angle (b. 1881), a tile maker and fixer originally from Staffordshire. They emigrated later that year to Manhattan and had no children. William had previously spent time in the USA and on 16 November 1904 he had left British shores with several other men of his trade aboard the Baltic which was, at the time, commanded by none other than Captain Edward James Smith.

Florence and her husband returned home to England in late 1911 to visit relatives, her parents and brother Charles.

William and Florence, for their return to New York, booked passage aboard Titanic as second class passengers. Florence survived the sinking, escaping lifeboat 11, but her husband William was lost.

Thomas Roussel Davids Byles (42)

Fr Thomas Roussel Davids Byles was born in Shelton, Staffs, England on 26 February 1870, he was the eldest of seven children. Byles' father was a congregational Minister and successful businessman.

While studying at Oxford, 1889-1894, Thomas Byles converted to Catholicism and the following year went to work as a Master at ST Edmund's College, a boys school and Roman Catholic seminary.

Byles' younger brother William also converted to Catholicism but moved to America to run a rubber business and fell in love with Katherine Russell of Brooklyn. When they planned to marry William asked his brother to officiate at the ceremony (planned for the Sunday after his arrival). He made arrangements to travel to New York, and was initially scheduled to travel on another White Star liner but switched at the last minute to the Titanic.

After the collision by many accounts Father Byles was a hero till the end, helping the third class passengers up the stairs, into the boats, hearing confessions and praying with those that had been unable to escape. Some newspapers reported that he was offered a seat but had refused. Third Class survivor, Bertha Moran, stated "He led us to where the boats were being lowered. Helping the women and children in he whispered to them words of comfort and encouragement."

Katherine and William did not reschedule their wedding. They had another priest perform the ceremony. In a Brooklyn newspaper it reported the bride and groom went home from the wedding and changed into mourning clothes and returned to the church for a memorial mass. A door installed by his brothers at the Roman Catholic Church in Chipping Ongar, Essex, stands as a memorial to Father Byles. A memorial photograph of him also hangs there.

The Caldwell Family (26, 28, & 10 months)

Second ClassStatus: Survived

Albert Francis Caldwell (26) and Sylvia Mae Harbaugh met at Park College in Missouri, and were married in 1909. The couple went to Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand) under the auspices of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions where they were teachers in Bangkok Christian College for Boys. While there they retained their American Citizenship. On June 10, 1911, their son, Alden Gates Caldwell, was born in Bangkok.

In April 1912 they were returning to their home in Biggsville, Illinois.

Mr Caldwell recounted his famiy's experience aboard the Titanic:
"It was a carefree and happy throng that sailed with the Titanic on her first and last voyage... The rhythmic beat of her propellers would, as a matter of fact, not cease until the narrow Atlantic had been crossed. The weather was ideal and the sea was calm. Everyone was having a good time... The table were piled high with all the luxuries and delicacies that one would desire. All were interested in the record speed that we were making. No mention was made of the icebergs."

Mr and Mrs Caldwell retired to bed at 10 pm but were awakened by the sound of the collision and the sudden cessation of the throbbing engines. Going up on deck a sailor told them about the iceberg but said there was no danger to the ship. The Caldwells returned to bed but were awakened a second time by someone pounding on their doors, yelling "Everyone on deck with your life belts."

Putting on his clothes, Albert was clearly not alarmed as he left his best suit hanging on the wall and several U.S. gold pieces at the bottom of a trunk. Albert and Sylvia then walked up on deck, little Alden wrapped in a blanket. On the deck a great throng of people had gathered. There was no panic, and when the order came to fill the lifeboats, women and children first, passengers were initially reluctant:
"They felt that it was safer to stay on the big ship. She could not sink. Consequently, the first lifeboats left the ship half filled with women and children who were practically forced into them. I did not want to trust the lives of my wife and baby to a tiny life boat and be lowered into the ocean, and wo we like many others held back."

A stoker coming up from below was in a far better position to tell him the truth: water was gushing into the holds and the Titanic was sinking. Mrs Caldwell got into lifeboat 13, Alden was tossed to Steward Frederick Ray in the stern and Mr Caldwell stepped into the bow as the boat was lowered. Alden Caldwell was the baby that Lawrence Beesley spoke of as crying incessantly in his lifeboat until someone noticed his feet were exposed. As soon as the feet were covered the crying ceased.

From the safety of the boat they watched as the great ship sank:
"At first, she seemed unharmed but, as we looked toward the bow of the ship, we could see that the lower line of portholes extended down into the water. The lights on the Titanic burned until a few minutes before she sank. She tipped, headfirst, lower and lower into the water, until all that we could see was the stern of the boat outlined against the starry sky. She hung as if on a pivot and then, with a gentle swish, disappeared from sight. For a moment all was silence and then, across that waste of waters, wafted a sound that will ever ring in my ears, the cries of those perishing in the icy water. They did not drown for they could not withstand the cold water and died, one by one, from exposure."

After their rescue by the Carpathia, the Caldwells resided in Illinois. A second son, Raymond Milton Caldwell, was born on 21 December 1914

Mrs Charlotte Caroline Collyer (Née Tate) (30)

Second ClassStatus: Survived

Mrs Charlotte Caroline Collyer was born as Charlotte Caroline Tate in Cobham, Surrey, England on 1 October 1881. Charlotte married Harvey Collyer in 1905. The couple had one child, a daughter, Marjorie Lottie Collyer.

Friends of the family had gone to Payette, Idaho several years before and made a success of the fruit farm they bought there. They wrote glowing accounts of the climate to the Collyers and advised them to come seek their fortune in Idaho. The Collyers did not seriously consider the proposition until Mrs Collyer began having respiratory problems (she was afflicted with tuberculosis), at which point they decided to buy a farm in the same valley as their friends in America.

The next morning the Collyers went to Southampton, where Mr Collyer drew from the bank the family's life savings (including the money from the sale of their store in Bishopstoke). He took the money in banknotes instead of a draft, and put the money in the inside breast pocket of his coat. In the Titanic's hold were the few personal possessions that the family had kept after the sale of their home -- which meant that everything the Collyers owned was on board the Titanic.

When the Titanic collided with the iceberg Charlotte was in bed feeling nauseous due to her meals having been too rich that day. Her husband went out to investigate and reported back, saying: 'What do you think? We've struck an iceberg - a big one - but there's no danger. An officer told me so!' She just asked her husband if anybody seemed frightened, and when he said no, she lay back again in her bunk.

Charlotte and Marjorie were rescued in lifeboat 14 but Harvey Collyer died in the sinking.

Mrs Collyer wrote to her mother on April 21st, lamented the death of her husband. "Oh mother how can I live without him. I wish I'd gone with him if they had not wrenched Madge from me I should have stayed and gone with him. But they threw her into the boat and pulled me in too but he was so calm and I know he would rather I lived for her little sake otherwise she would have been an orphan."

Charlotte and Marjorie did not settle in the USA as planned and returned to England where, towards the end of 1914, she was remarried to a man named James Ashbrook Holme, and the couple lived in Greyshott, Haslemere, Surrey.

William Hull Botsford (25)

Second ClassStatus: Perished

Mr William Hull Botsford was born in Binghampton on 23 November 1886. After leaving school at the age of sixteen Botsford worked for two years in the architectural office of Pierce and Bickford in Elmira as well as a firm based in Rochester, NY.

After graduating Botsford become chief designer for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. He designed many stations in the New York and New Jersey area including those at Elmira, Bath, New Village, Hopatcong, Basking Ridge, Watessing, Bloomfield, Syracuse, Utica, Hoboken and Ithaca. The last station Botsford would design was at Montclair. Botsford's last and most substantial work was the Tunkhannock Viaduct (aka Nicholson Bridge) near Nicholson, PA. Half a mile long and 100 feet higher than the Brooklyn Bridge the viaduct was designed to carry the Lackawanna railroad. The design was only accepted by the railroad board just as Botsford was leaving for home. His ship was the Titanic.

William had taken leave to travel in Egypt, and Turkey and throughout Europe to study architectural design and techniques. For the return journey he boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger.

Mr Botsford perished in the sinking.

A memorial service was held at the Orange NJ, YMCA.

A.G. Hallock, a friend of Botsford's made the following address:
"He left a record of modesty and unselfishness which led his friends at the very first to give up hope that he might have been rescued. He would have thought first of the women and children and then of those having greater responsibilities than he."

Kate Buss (36)

Second ClassStatus: Survived

Miss Kate Buss was born in Sittingbourne, Kent on Tuesday 28 December 1875. While living in Kent she worked in a a Grocers Shop owned by her brother, Percy James.

Kate booked passage on the Titanic, traveling alone to America where she was to be met by her Fiancé Samuel George Willis, where they were to be wed in San Diego, California.. Residents of the Sittingbourne remember her preparing her trousseau and gathering together the wedding presents to take with her on the voyage.

At the time of the collision Kate had retired and lay in her bunk reading a newspaper when the collision occured. She thought it sounded like a skate on ice. As the boats were loaded, Kate turned away, she couldn't bear to watch the evacuation. A while later she got into lifeboat 9, and survived the sinking.

Kate Buss eventually reached San Diego where she and her fiancé were married on May 11th 1912. They had a daughter, Sybil, and after their retirement moved to Pasadena to be closer to her. Kate lived to be 96, and was never able to discuss the Titanic without being emotional.

Mary Emma Corey (Née Miller) (32)

Second ClassStatus: Perished

Mrs Mary Emma Corey was born as Mary Emma Miller in Pennsylvania (possibly Cambria County) in August 1879. Mary, known as Mamie, later worked as a school teacher, teaching at Westlake School. She was married on 26 August 1911 in Windsor, Essex, Ontario to Percy Coleman Corey (b. 20 June 1874). Mary moved to Burma where her husband was working as a superintendent at a petroleum company. She fell pregnant whilst in Burma and decided to return to Pennsylvania to have her baby.

She boarded the Titanic in Southampton as a second class passenger. Travelling with her was Mrs Claire Karnes, also pregnant, a resident of Pittsburgh and whose husband worked for Percy Corey in Burma.

Another Titanic passenger, Lawrence Beesley, wrote of the two on the night of the collision "Close beside me--so near I cannot avoid hearing scraps of their conversations--are two American ladies, both dressed in white, young, probably friends only: one had been to India and is returning by way of England, the other is a schoolteacher in America, a graceful girl with a distinguished air heightened by a pair of pince-nez."

Both Mary Corey and her friend Claire Karnes perished in the sinking, and became two of only a dozen women travelling second class to lose their lives that night. The reason for their not leaving Titanic is unknown.

Mrs Agnes Davies (Née Friggens) (48)

Second ClassStatus: Survived

Mrs Agnes Davies was born as Agnes Friggens in Ludgvan, Cornwall, England on 23 November 1861. She was the daughter of Grace Friggens (b. circa 1841 in Gulvall, Cornwall) who was unmarried at the time of her birth. Grace seemingly married a few years later to a man named Thomas Victor and had at least one more child before emigrating to the USA, leaving Agnes behind. Agnes was apparently raised by Henry and Dinah White, natives of Ludgvan who already had a large family.

Agnes was married in Penzance on 31 May 1886 to Richard Henry Nicholls. The couple had three children: Mary Ethel (b. 1886), Richard Henry (b. 1890) and Joseph Charles (b. 1892). When Agnes' first husband Richard Nicholls died is not certain, but she was listed as a widow on the 1901 cencus. Not long afterward her eldest son, Richard Nicholls and his wife, emigrated to Kearsarge near New Allouez, Houghton, Michigan. A short while later Agnes decided to take her family to join her son and daughter-in-law in America. To raise the necessary funds she sold all her belongings in St Ives. With this done she purchased their ticket for the maiden voyage of the Titanic.

Agnes and her son John survived the sinking, probably in lifeboat 14. Her son Joseph perished.

the events immediately before and after the sinking were recounted by her to a Calumet newspaper on arrival in Michigan.
'We were in our berths when the steamer struck the iceberg at 11.50 the night of Sunday. we felt the jar but did not imagine that anything serious had occured. However I rang for the steward for the purpose of making inquiries. He assured us that nothing of consequence had happened and that we could remain in our berths without fear. A few minutes later Miss Phillips' father, who was also a passenger on the boat called his daughter and told her to dress. She went on deck and returned shortly and said orders had been given for all the passengers to dress and put on lifebelts. By this time I had dressed, although my little son was still sleeping. The steward again came to the stateroom and said there was no danger or occasion for fear. I decided to dress the boy, however, and did so.
My son Joseph had dressed and he came to the stateroom and put lifebelts on us. Through all this time we had received no warning from the steward, no orders to prepare for anything like what we were to experience. Had it not been for our curiosity to learn what was going on we might have perished. we went on deck about 12.15 and my son and myself were placed in the third lifeboat.
My older son, Joseph, helped to place us in the boat and asked permission to enter it himself, this being refused with the threat that he would be shot if he attempted to get in. I pleaded with the officers in vain, that he be allowed to come with me. There were about fifty in the boat, but there was room for more. After we were lowered away and before the boat left the ship some men entered it by sliding down the davit ropes. The men in charge of the boat rowed as hard as they could to get away from the ship. By the time she sank, which was at 1.45, it seemed as if we were miles away, although I could hear the screams, cries and moaning of the drowning passengers.'

Mary Ann Charlotte Davis (28)

Second ClassStatus: Survived

Miss Mary Ann Charlotte Davis was born on Park Place in Southwark, London, England on 18 May 1883.

Mary decided to emigrate to New York where she had several siblings. She boarded the Titanic at Southampton on 10 April 1912 as a second class passenger. Whilst aboard she shared a cabin with an elderly nurse, Lucy Ridsdale.

Speaking of the night of the sinking, following her awakening by a steward: "I threw a coat on over my nightgown and put on some shoes. Then I gathered up a few trinkets, and things my parents had given me." She then began making her way up to the boat deck, assisting her cabin mate Lucy Ridsdale who was afflicted with a club foot. On the way a sailor ran by, hitting Mary painfully in the shoulder with his life jacket. It was then she realised she and Miss Ridsdale were not wearing any so she retreated back to her cabin to fetch them, leaving Miss Ridsdale to carry on. By the time she reached the boat deck Lucy was already in a lifeboat (number 13) which was beginning its descent. An overzealous crewman saw her and threw her into the boat, already a few feet down, and she landed awkwardly in the bottom of the boat, striking her knees painfully.

Whilst aboard the lifeboat she recalled hearing Nearer my God to Thee and how the chilling screams of the dying were a sound that would never leave her. She reported how the occupants of her boat sang Pull for the Shore, Sailors to drown out the sound.

Mary lived to be 104 and remained surprisingly bright even for her advanced years and continued to give interviews for interested Titanic enthusiasts and newspapers, even when she was over 100-years. By the time the wreck of the Titanic was discovered in 1985 she was 102 years old. Even to the end she retained her native London accent and was described by all who met her as a very pleasant lady.

Leah Aks (18)

Second ClassStatus: Survived

Mrs Leah Aks (Leah Rosen), 18, was born in Warsaw, Poland on 18 March 1894, the daughter of Morris Rosen, who in 1912 lived in Brunswick Street, London.

She boarded the Titanic at Southampton with her baby son Frank Philip Aks. Leah and "Filly" had left their home in London for Norfolk, Virginia where Leah's Husband Samuel, a tailor, was waiting for them.

On the night of the sinking Leah Aks was forced up to the boat deck she found herself next to Madeleine Astor. Upon seeing the baby Mrs Astor removed her shawl and wrapped it around him.

Not long after as Leah stood on the deck clutching her baby son he was suddenly torn away from her and tossed into lifeboat 11 which was being prepared for lowering, as she struggled to retrieve him she was restrained by crewmen who thought she was trying to rush the boat. Filly was caught by Elizabeth Nye who sat him on her lap, later she wrapped him in a steamer blanket to keep him warm. Meanwhile Leah, still in a state of shock, was pushed into lifeboat 13 next to Selena Rogers Cook.

After their rescue Leah and Selena were walking together on the deck of the Carpathia when an Italian woman (possibly Argene del Carlo) passed them holding a baby, Leah recognized Filly at once. She went to Captain Rostron and appealed to him to help her get her baby back, he took the two women to his room and asked each to provide proof of identity. Leah was able to describe a birthmark on Filly's chest and he was returned to her. It has also been said that Leah provided further proof by her knowledge that the baby was circumcised.

She was so grateful to Captain Rostron of the Carpathia for her rescue that the following yearly giving birth to her only daughter she named her Sarah Carpathia Aks. Reportedly the nuns at the hospital when filling out her birth certificate put down Sarah Titanic Aks. This mistake was corrected.

William H Harbeck (45)

Second ClassStatus: Perished

Mr William H. Harbeck was born in Toledo, Ohio in September 1866. He was married on 16 February 1886 to Catherine "Katie" Stetter (b. September 1863), a Toledo-native of German parentage. The couple had two sons: John Samuel (b. 27 April 1887) and Stanley (b. 23 February 1892).

He earned his reputation in 1906 filming the aftermath of the earthquake in San Francisco and, having worked for the Selig Polyscope Company, was hired by the Canadian Pacific Railway's Department of Colonisation "to put Western Canada on the motion picture screen in a scenic, industrial and comic form." The films had been so successful that the C.P.R. had renewed his two year contract, and in the spring of 1912 had sent him to Paris to study with Leon Gaumont, the trailblazing French filmmaker who first mastered the outdoor location shoot.

He left Seattle in January of 1912 and sailed for Europe on February 27, visiting London, Brussels, Paris and Berlin, disposing of the various films he had taken with him and taking other films while there for later presentation in the American theatre.
Harbeck wrote a letter to his wife from Berlin on 1 April saying that he had completed his business and was returning by way of Amsterdam to London and would be sailing home on the Titanic on 10 April. He asked his wife to forward his mail to the Hotel Cadillac in New York.

Harbeck had possibly been engaged by the White Star Line to film the maiden voyage. He was supposed later to have been taken off the Titanic by a tug at Sandy Hook in order to film Titanic's arrival at the dock. He boarded the vessel at Southampton. Although Harbeck was married and had two sons, the woman travelling with him on Titanic was not his wife, Catherine, but Henriette Yvois, a 22-year old model Harbeck had met in Paris. During the trip, Lawrence Beesley tells us that Harbeck watched his "wife" Henriette play solitaire throughout most of the voyage.

Both Harbeck and Yrois died in the sinking. When Harbeck's body was recovered, (35) it was found clutching a purse which was later identified as belonging to Yvois, and he was identified by his membership card in the Moving Picture and Projecting Machine Operators Union.

When Catherine Harbeck came from Toledo to claim the body in Halifax she was almost turned away as an imposter because authorities told her Mrs Harbeck had drowned with her husband. Mrs Harbeck took the body back to Toledo for burial in Toledo's Woodlawn Cemetery.

Annie Jessie Harper (6)

Second ClassStatus: Survived

Miss Annie Jessie Harper (also known as Nana) was born on 3 January 1906 in Govan, Lanarkshire, Scotland.

She was the only child of John Harper (b. 1872), an evangelical pastor and a native of Renfrewshire, and the former Annie Leckie Bell (b. 1866), who perished five days after Annie Jessie's death, due to complications arising from childbirth. Her mother's niece Jessie Wills Leitch, a Renfrewshire native who had lived with Annie much of her life, stepped in to help take care of baby Nana. Annie and her father moved to London when John became a pastor at the Walworth Road Baptist Church.

Nana, her father and her cousin Jessie boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers, they were travelling to the Moody Church in Chicago, Illinois.

Annie and Jessie survived the sinking, but John Harper was lost.

Jessie Leitch later recalled the events on the night of the sinking:
"About midnight Mr Harper came to our stateroom and told us that the vessel had struck an iceberg. While I was dressing he went to learn further particulars and returned to say that the order had been given to put on the life belts. We did so, and, picking up Nana in his arms, he took her up to the deck. There the women were ordered to the upperdeck. I had to climb a vertical iron ladder and Mr Harper brought Nana after me up the ladder and the men at the top lifted her up to me again... There was no opportunity for farewell, and, in fact, even then we did not realize the danger, as we were assured again and again that the vessel could not sink, that the Olympic would be alongside at any minute, and that the women and children were to be put into the boats first and the men to follow, and that there were boats sufficient for all. Our boat was well manned--it was the eleventh to leave the vessel... After about half an hour the Titanic went down. We were about a mile away."

Nana's own recollections were sparse but she later recalled sitting on her cousin Jessie's knee as she watched the Titanic sink and she later recalled the noise of those struggling in the water.

Annie returned to England and was apparently raised by an uncle and aunt in London. Nana, known more frequently as Nan in her later years, continued to live in Burnside but had few memories of her time on Titanic. She therefore spoke little about that experience in her life but did keep in regular contact with the Titanic community and with fellow survivor Eva Hart who remembered playing with her on Titanic as a child, past exchanges that Nan had no recollections of.

Thomas Francis Myles (63)

Mr Thomas Francis Myles was born in Fermoy, Co Cork, Ireland on 9 January 1849. He was married in Southbridge, Massachusetts on 16 September 1877 to Mary Theresa Kennah (b. July 1849), a Massachusetts native born to Irish parents, and the couple went on to have nine children: Leo Thomas (1878-1957), Frances Mary (1879-1880), Mary Frances (1881-1884), Frederick Kennah (1882-1948), Gertrude Ellen (1884-1980), Agnes Mary (1886-1965), Thomas Raymond (1888-1890), Elizabeth Ann (1890-1966, later Mrs Christopher Mahan) and Eileen Lane (1894-1958)

Thomas eventually earned enough to invest in real estate and owned at least ten rental properties by the time of his death. In 1890 he built a home in Cambridge, Massachusetts for his family which he named "Idlewild" and had planned to build a new home in Waban, Massachusetts. In late 1911, he travelled back to Ireland with his daughter Gertrude to settle part of the family estate and oversee custodianship of his brother James (b. 1851), a tailor who is said to have been afflicted with learning difficulties and who was unable to read or write. He was Thomas' last surviving family member in Ireland.

Myles' return journey was booked on an earlier White Star liner which was withdrawn from service due to the coal strike. He transferred to the Carpathia but it was filled to capacity so he finally booked second class passage on the Titanic, which he boarded in Queenstown. Lawrence Beesley described Mr Myles in his memoir of the sinking:
"... Engaged in a conversation with them is a gentleman whom I subsequently identified from a photograph as a well known resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts, genial, polished, and with a courtly air towards the ladies, whom he has known but a few hours..."

Thomas did not survive the sinking.

Three weeks after the tragedy a survivor from New York City visited the family to tell them that Myles had been in a lifeboat but stepped out saying "Women and children first". The survivor also told them he saw Myles leading a group in prayer trying to encourage and calm them. They knelt with him on the deck and together they said the rosary and asked god for protection and help in their hour of need. He was possibly mixed up with Father Thomas Byles.

Larwence Beesley (34)

Second ClassStatus: Survived

Mr Lawrence Beesley was born in Wirksworth, Derbyshire on 31 December 1877. In 1904, after having two years experience in teaching at Wirksworth Grammar School, he moved to Dulwich College where he worked as a science master. According to contemporary reports he had resigned his position to go for a holiday in the States, and to visit his brother in Toronto. He was a widower and left a young son.

Beesley boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger.

Beesley had been in his cabin (D-56) reading when the collision occured, he only noticed a slight heave of the engines and the regular dancing movement on his mattress seemed to stop. Beesley stopped a steward to ask what had happened but was advised that it was nothing. He went up to A-Deck while the boats were being loaded but then decided to return to his cabin, as he did so he noticed a strange sensation as he descended the stairs, the stairs seemed to be level but his feet did not fall quite where they should. He donned his Norfolk jacket, stuffed some books into his pockets and then headed back to the A-Deck.

The list was worse when Beesley returned to A-Deck but he found that men were now being allowed to board lifeboat 13 which had been lowered to the level of the windows of the enclosed screen, he boarded the boat which finally lowered away at 1.25 with 64 people aboard. As the boat descended it came perilously close to an outfall which was discharging water at a tremendous rate. Only the shouts of the boat's occupants prevented them being flooded. Quick action was also needed when they eventually reached the water, they were unable to cut the falls and drifted under the path of boat 15 which had started to descend, again the occupants of boat 13 shouted to those on deck and the descent of boat 15 was halted. The falls of boat 13 were eventually cut and the boat drifted away from the ship.

Beesley watched as the Titanic sank deeper, he observed the lights blink and then go out for good. After the ship was gone he tried to comfort a crying baby by tucking a blanket under its toes, he disovered that he and the lady holding the baby had mutual friends in Clonmel, Ireland.

After his rescue Beesley wrote a successful book, The Loss of the SS Titanic, about his experience.

Third Class

Rhoda "Rosa" Mary Abbott (née Hunt) (39)

Third ClassStatus: Survived

Mrs Rhoda Abbott, 39, of Providence, Rhode Island, was the wife of Stanton Abbott, a former middleweight champion of England, but had separated from him in early 1911. Mrs Abbott supported herself and her sons Rossmore (16) and Eugene (13) by sewing. She was also a soldier in the Salvation Army.

In August of 1911 Mrs Abbott decided to move to England to live with her mother in St. Albanshurst, and she and her boys made the crossing to England on board the Olympic. It wasn't long, however, before Rossmore and Eugene became homesick for Providence, and Mrs Abbott eventually decided to return to the states for her sons' benefit. In April of 1912 she booked her little family's passage back to America as steerage passengers on board the Titanic.

As the Titanic took her final plunge Mrs Abbott and her two sons jumped from the deck, she managed to get into Collapsible A but the two boys were lost. The boat had been swamped as it was launched and its occupants balanced precariously in knee-deep water boat until they were eventually picked up by Collapsible D. Fifth Officer Harold Lowe ensured the survivors were transferred and then opened the sea cocks. It drifted away with three bodies still in it, their faces covered by lifebelts.

Amy Stanley, another survivor later recalled:
"We were very close since we were on the Titanic together. And her stateroom had been near mine. I was the only one that she could talk to about her sons because I knew them myself. She told me that she would get [sic] in the lifeboat if there hadn't been so many people around. So she and her sons kept together. She was thankful that [the] three of them had stayed with her on that piece of wreckage. The youngest went first then the other son went. She grew numb and cold and couldn't remember when she got on the Carpathia. There was a piece of cork in her hair and I managed to get a comb and it took a long time but finally we got it out."

During the voyage to New York Mrs Abbott stayed in a makeshift bed on a padded sheet in the smoking room because her legs were badly damaged from the effects of cold water. Indeed, according to one source (Pellegrino 1988) her injuries were so severe that she did not stir from her cot on the Carpathia until New York and then spent at least two more weeks hospitalized. She was looked after from there by her church (Grace Episcopal Church) in Providence, Rhode Island where her son Rossmore had once been in the boy's choir. It is thought that the Abbott's 3rd class passage back to the U.S. had been arranged by members of Grace Church.

Banoura Ayoub Daher (15)

Third classStatus: Survived

Miss Banoura Ayoub from Kafr 'Abaida, Lebanon was travelling to Columbus, USA to join her uncle in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. She did not know or understand English and left her parents behind in Lebanon.

She boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg as a third class passenger with the cousins Shawneene George Whabee, Tannous Thomas, Gerios Yousseff and Tannous Doharr. The rest of the group were bound for Youngstown, Ohio.

When the Titanic hit the iceberg, Banoura was below deck with the other third class passengers. It was only after some first class passengers came below deck urging the women and children to leave that Shawnee Abi Saab (Mrs. George Joseph Whabee) took her by the hand and went to the main deck and ultimately to Collapsible Lifeboat C. Banoura's three male cousins remained on board the Titanic and perished in the disaster.

Banoura eventually made it to her Uncle's home in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada only to be turned away by her distraught Uncle. He would not allow her to stay with him after his son died.

Banoura was taken in by another woman who had immigrated from Lebanon earlier, and met the man she was to marry. Banoura married Michael Deyoub, who himself had immigrated from Tripoli, Syria on 9 September, 1912, just short of five months after the Titanic met it's fate. While living in Owen Sound, Banoura and Michael had two children, Mary and George.

She never returned to Lebanon or saw her parents and despite her experience on the Titanic she loved boating. She also was a gutsy lady. Her husband, Michael, while working at Ford Motor Company's Rouge Assembly Plant, received a cash envelope with his pay for the week. One week Michael came home without his pay, having gambled it away. Banoura got on a bus, went down to Ford's Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan and told her complaint to Henry Ford himself. From that day forward all subsequent pay envelopes were sent directly to her instead of being given to her husband. Michael's days as a Gambler were over.

Julia Barry (33)

third classStatus: Perished

Julia Barry was born in Killeentierna, Co Kerry, Ireland in 1879, the youngest of four. Her family was Roman Catholic and spoke both Irish and English.

Julia's older brother Edward emigrated to New York around 1908, where he worked as a stonemason. Julia also settled in New York, and by 1911 she was a resident of Manhattan. In early 1911 she had returned to Ireland to care for her dying mother, who passed away in the spring of 1911.

For her return to New York Julia had originally made plans to sail aboard The Celtic, but switched to Titanic for sooner crossing. She wrote to her brother Edward, informing him of the change and requesting him to meet her at the pier.

Her brother Edward travelled to the Cunard pier in the hope she was among the saved, but sadly Julia's life had been lost in the sinking of the ship. Later that year Edward married and became a father, naming his first born child Julia in his sisters honor.

Bridget Delia Bradley (22)

Third ClassStatus: Survived

Bridget Delia Bradley was born in Kingwilliamstown (now Ballydesmond), County Cork, Ireland, 10 January 1890.

Miss Bradley boarded the Titanic bound for Glenfalls New York.

Bridget survived the sinking in lifeboat 13, and fellow third class passenger Daniel Buckley recalled "There was a girl from my place and just when she got down into the lifeboat she thought the boat was sinking into the water. Her name was Bridget Bradley. She climbed one of the ropes as far as she could and tried to get back into the Titanic again, as she thought she would be safer in it than in the lifeboat. She was just getting up when one of the sailors went out to her and pulled her down again." U.S. Senate Inquiry Testimony (8 May 1912; Daniel Buckley)

In 1926 Bridget married a Canadian, Bernard LaSha, and moved to Gananoque, Ontario. They had four children. One of her daughters wrote her mother's biography, Unsinkable Bridget, which was published privately. In 1953 Mrs LaSha was persuaded to see the movie Titanic with Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyk. "She hesitated about wanting to see, but with a little persuasion we managed to get her to go," her daughter wrote. "She became very emotional during the movie and at times kept shaking her head as if to say, "no, it didn't happen that way." After the movie she was rushed on stage, had her picture taken with the mayor, given a bouquet of flowers and a lifetime pass to the theatre which she never used. For once in her life, she was in the spotlight, if only for such a short time."

The Goodwin Family ()

Elizabeth Gladys ‘Millvina’ Dean (2 Months)

Miss Elizabeth Gladys Dean, better known as Millvina, was born on 2 February 1912, in Hampshire England. She was the daughter of Bertram Frank Dean and Georgette Eva Light Dean.

At only two months old Millvina, along with her parents and one year old brother Bertram Vere, boarded the Titanic to emigrate to Wichita, Kansas where her father hoped to open a Tobacconist Shop.

On the night of the sinking Ettie was awoken by her husband who said that he felt a crash. He went on deck and returned, telling her to get the children, and herself, dressed-up warmly. The family headed towards the lifeboats. Eva managed to board a lifeboat with Millvina, but lost track of both her son and husband in the commotion. Bertram Sr perished in the sinking, but Bertram Vere survived and was reunited with his mother and sister on the Carpathia.

They returned to England aboard the Adriatic. It was on the Adriatic that Millvina became quite a spectacle: that such a tiny baby could have came through the ordeal alive. First and Second Class passengers on the Adriatic queued to hold her, and many took photographs of her, her mother and brother, several of which were published in contemporary newspapers.
"[She] was the pet of the liner during the voyage, and so keen was the rivalry between women to nurse this lovable mite of humanity that one of the officers decreed that first and second class passengers might hold her in turn for no more than ten minutes" (Daily Mirror, 12 May 1912)

In her younger years Millvina did not know that she was on the Titanic, and only found out when she was eight and her mother was planning to remarry.

Millvina lived to be 97, and was the last living-survivor. She lived in retirement in Southampton, England and was kept very busy attending conventions; appearing in documentaries, TV series and radio shows; signing huge amounts of autographs; and relating her tales to school groups.

Bertram Frank Dean (25)

Third ClassStatus: Perished

Mr Bertram Frank Dean, 25, was born on 30 June 1886 in London. He owned a public house together with his wife Eva 'Ettie' Georgette Light, who was some years older than he. The couple had two children: Bertram Vere, born in 1910, and Elizabeth Gladys Millvina, born in 1912.

In 1912 Bertram decided to emigrate to Wichita, Kansas where he had family and friends, and where they had a house waiting for them. He also hoped to open a tobacconist shop. Bertram sold the public house and purchased a third class ticket for his family. The family were originally booked on another White Star liner, possibly the Adriatic, but owing to the coal strike they were transferred to Titanic. The Deans boarded the Titanic at Southampton.

On the night of the sinking Bertram was alerted to the danger by the actual collision. He left the cabin to investigate and soon returned, telling his wife Ettie to get the sleeping children dressed and up on deck.

Eva managed to board a lifeboat with Millvina, but lost track of both her son and husband in the commotion. Bertram Sr perished in the sinking, but Bertram Vere survived and was reunited with his mother and sister on the Carpathia.

They returned to England aboard the Adriatic. It was on the Adriatic that Millvina became quite a spectacle: that such a tiny baby could have came through the ordeal alive. First and Second Class passengers on the Adriatic queued to hold her, and many took photographs of her, her mother and brother, several of which were published in contemporary newspapers.
"[She] was the pet of the liner during the voyage, and so keen was the rivalry between women to nurse this lovable mite of humanity that one of the officers decreed that first and second class passengers might hold her in turn for no more than ten minutes" (Daily Mirror, 12 May 1912)

In her younger years Millvina did not know that she was on the Titanic, and only found out when she was eight and her mother was planning to remarry.

Millvina lived to be 97, and was the last living-survivor. She lived in retirement in Southampton, England and was kept very busy attending conventions; appearing in documentaries, TV series and radio shows; signing huge amounts of autographs; and relating her tales to school groups.

Hans Linus Eklund (16)

Charles Richard Fardon (Charles Franklin) (46)

Third ClassStatus: Perished

Mr Charles Richard Farden was born in Daventry, Northamptonshire, England in 1866.

Charles was married in Daventry in 1896 to Sophia Turnell (b. 1865 in Wellingborough) and they settled in Wellingborough. The couple would have one child, a daughter named Dorothy Kate, who was born on 21 January 1899.

Charles boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a third class passenger, destined for Canada. He boarded under the pseudonym Charles Franklin, for reasons unknown.

Margaret Ann Watson Ford (54)

Third ClassStatus: Perished

Mrs Margaret Ford was born as Margaret Ann Watson on 3 December 1857 in Bracadale on the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. She was married in 1890 to Edward Ford, a native of Fletching, Sussex. They went on to have five children, Dollina Margaret (b. 1891), Frances Mary (b. 1893), Edward Watson (b. 1895), William Neal Thomas (b. 1897) and Robina Maggie (b. 1904).

Margaret's husband Edward later reportedly deserted the family and she was left to eke out an existence as a poultry farmer. Her daughter Frances had emigrated to the USA in 1911 and worked as a domestic servant with a wealthy Long Island family, and so impressed her family back home with tales of a better life that Margaret decided to leave their home in Rotherfield for America. Travelling with them was Margaret's sister Elizabeth Johnston with her family and a family friend, Phoebe Alice Harknett.

Margaret bought ticket for her and her children and they boarded the Titanic at Southampton as third class passengers and were destined for New London, Connecticut where Mrs Watson's brother Thomas lived.

The entire party of ten were lost in the sinking.

Margaret's daughter Frances, having lost her mother, her siblings and other relatives, later went to live in Haverhill, Massachusetts with her uncle Thomas Watson.

William Henry Nancarrow (36)

Third ClassStatus: Perished

Mr William Henry Nancarrow was born in St Austell, Cornwall, England in the Spring of 1876. William was married in 1897 to Mary Ellen Cannon (b. 1877) of St Blazey, Cornwall. The couple went on to have eight children: Thomas Henry (1898-1916), Walter (1900-1951), Lilian (1902-1990, later Mrs George Rowe), Marion (1904-1985), Beatrice Morcum (1906-1962, later Mrs Henry Brumby), Evelyn May (1908-1991, later Mrs John Dunstan), Nellie (1910-2004, later Mrs Walter Tidball) and Stanley (b. 1911)

William had already visited the states previously where he worked. To return he boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a third class passenge, destined for Yonkers, New York.

He may have been acquainted William Henry Saundercock and Ernest Cann, both also of St Austell who also worked in the China quarries. He was travelling with relatives, Grace and Alexander Robins. William's father was the brother of Grace's mother, Susanna Nancarrow.

William Nancarrow died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified. His relatives the Robins were also lost.

Hard on the heels of William's passing came the death of his youngest child Stanley in the latter months of 1912 aged only 1. His eldest son later fought in France during WWI in the 14th Battalion of the Gloucester Regiment. He was killed on 4 March 1916.

By coincidence, his second son Walter (1900-1951) was married in 1918 to Edith Saundercock (1897-1948) who was the sister of another Titanic victim, William Henry Saundercock

John Joseph Kiernan (25)

Third ClassStatus: Perished

Mr John Joseph Kiernan was born in Fostragh, Ballinamuck, Co Longford, Ireland around 1887. He was the son of John Kiernan (b. 1840), a farmer, and Catherine Kelleher (b. 1843) who had married in 1867. He was one of ten surviving siblings.

John appears on the 1901 census living with his family at house 2 in Fostragh, Ballinamuck. Aged 14, he had already left school and was working on his father's farm. He later emigrated to the USA around 1905, showing up on the 1910 census living with his elder sister Catherine Tierney and her large family in Jersey City, New Jersey. Whilst there he worked as a barman for his maternal uncle Philip Kelleher

John returned home to Ireland in August 1911 to visit family. For his return to New Jersey he would be accompanied by his younger brother Philip and they were also travelling with a crowd from their area in Co Longford with included the Murphy sisters, Catherine and Margaret, and Thomas McCormack, who was apparently a cousin. It is reported that Margaret Murphy and John Kiernan were sweethearts and intent on marrying once they reached America. John boarded the Titanic at Queenstown on 11 April 1912 as a third class passenger. It is believed he shared a cabin with his brother and Thomas McCormack.

On the night of the sinking John, after encountering difficulties getting to higher decks escorted the Murphy sisters to a lifeboat, giving Margaret his lifebelt as she did not have one.

Thomas McCormack, along with the Murphy sisters, survived the sinking. John and Philip did not.

McCormack later spoke of Philip and John's passing:

"It was brotherly love that cost Phil his life. As he was hurrying toward the deck his brother John called to him to go on, that he would be there in a minute. As we reached the stairs Philip looked around, and not seeing his brother, started to return to look for him. I kept on and did not see either of them again..."

Winnie Coutts (Née Trainer) (36)

Mrs William Coutts (Winnie Minnie Trainer), 36, was born in Ireland on 2nd February, 1876. She moved to London, England and was married to William Coutts and had two sons, William and Neville.

In 1912 she was living in Southampton. Her husband had been working in New York as an Engraver. After a year he was able to send enough money for Minnie and the boys to join him. To further save money Minnie bought third class tickets. She boarded the Titanic, with her two sons, at Southampton to join her husband in Brooklyn, New York.

On the night of the disaster Minnie was awaked by the commotion outside her stern cabin. She looked out to see what was happening but decided to wait for official orders before wakening her sons and taking action. Soon she could wait no longer and dressed her two sleepy children, but could find only two lifebelts in her cabin, which she secured on her two sons. She darted into the chaotic hallways but found herself lost. A crewman directed her up to the lifeboats but she found her way barred by a gate. Fortunately another crewman happened to pass who gave her alternate directions and his lifebelt, asking her to pray for him if she be saved. Minnie did find her way to the boat deck where she located lifeboat 2. She encountered problems, however, when the officer in charge of that boats launching refused to let her elder son William enter because he looked too old in his straw hat. She was finally able to persuade the officer to let the nine-year-old pass.

She and her sister made plans to emigrate to the USA where several of their siblings already lived there. Her sister Annie lived in Brooklyn and her brother Patrick is believed to have lived in Philadelphia. It was to the latter city that Maggie and Kate were headed to and they boarded the Titanic at Queenstown on 11 April 1912 as third class passengers

Whilst aboard the sisters shared a cabin on E-deck with two other Longford girls, Kate Gilnagh and Kate Mullin, and they were also acquainted with others from Longford: the Kiernan brothers, John and Phillip, who were also from Fostragh, and Thomas McCormack and James Farrell who were from neighbouring townlands.

On the night of the sinking, Maggie later recalled crewmen blocking their way up to the upper decks and recalled seeing lifeboats leaving the ship only partially full. She also reported scuffles breaking out between some third class men and crewmen determined to keep the steerage in their place whilst she saw women and children deep in prayer nearby. Lore has it that it was the intervention of Longford man James Farrell, who threatened to punch a crewman if he didn't let the women past to the boats, who became the women's saviour.

Maggie, her sister and the two Kates from Longford were rescued in lifeboat 16, alongside an interloper, Thomas McCormack.

Lillian Gertrud Asplund (5)

Third ClassStatus: Survived

Miss Lillian Gertrud Asplund, 5, was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on 21 October 1906, the daughter of Carl & Selma Asplund. Lillian had a fraternal twin brother, Carl Edgar, one younger brother, Felix, and two older brothers, Filip, and Clarence.

Lillian's family came originally from Alsema in the Smaland region of Sweden but had for some years been settled in Massachusetts. In 1907 they had returned to Sweden to settle Mr. Asplund's father?s estate upon his death and to care for his mother. In 1912, Lillian's father, Carl O. Asplund, was set to go back to his previous position as a labourer at Spencer Wire Works in Worcester. According to a letter written by Mr. Asplund to his sister, the family was very much looking forward to returning to the United States.

In an interview conducted with Miss. Asplund, some time ago, she recalled the disaster and relayed how she remembered being passed through what she described as a window (later identified as the First Class Promenade Deck) into a descending lifeboat and looking back up at the sinking Titanic. Having left 3 of her brothers, including her twin, Carl, and her father onboard the doomed ship, she maintains she was haunted by their faces peering over the rail at her for much of her life.

Lillian was rescued in lifeboat 15 with her mother and brother, Felix. Upon their eventual arrival in Worcester, they resided at the families original intended destination, at the home of Lillian's aunt and uncle. The devastated family had lost all of their possessions including their life savings on the Titanic. The city of Worcester, shortly thereafter, held a very successful fundraiser and benefit for the family with the total sum raised reaching nearly $2,000.

Lillian Gertrude Asplund lived to be 99 years old, and was the last living survivor of the Titanic disaster with actual memories of it. She lived in Massachusetts until her death on 6th May 2006. Lillian's hobbies, when she was able, included gardening, flowers (especially roses) and it was said her favorite snack was pepperoni pizza. She declined ever to discuss the disaster, as had her mother.

Edward Watson Ford (18)

Third ClassStatus: Perished

Mr Edward Watson Ford was born in Mayfield, Sussex, England in the second half of 1895.

Edward's father Edward later reportedly deserted the family leaving his mother to eke out an existence as a poultry farmer. His sister Frances had emigrated to the USA in 1911 and worked as a domestic servant with a wealthy Long Island family, and so impressed her family back home with tales of a better life that the family decided to leave their home in Rotherfield and settle in America. Travelling with them was his aunt Elizabeth Johnston and her family and a family friend, Phoebe Alice Harknett. The Fords bought ticket W./C. 6608 (which cost £34 7s 6d) and they boarded the Titanic at Southampton as third class passengers and were destined for New London, Connecticut where his uncle Thomas Watson lived.

The entire party of ten were lost in the sinking. His father Edward later filed a claim for the loss of his family and was awarded five shillings per week.

James Kelly (44)

Third ClassStatus: Perished

Mr James Kelly was born in Leixlip, Co Kildare, Ireland around 1867. He was the son of William Kelly and Catherine Cafferty.

He was married to his wife Catherine, née Goffe (b. 1864 in Kildare) around 1887 and they had a total of ten children, with seven surviving infancy: Thomas (b. 1888), Margaret (1890-1976), Kate (1892-1964), Mary (1895-1990), Bridget (b. 1897), William (1900-1976) and James (1904-1987).

James' eldest daughter Margaret had left Ireland in early 1911 and settled in New Haven, Connecticut where she worked in Strouse-Adler's corset shop. Her uncle John, her father's brother, also worked in New Haven as a machinist. Margaret's earnings paid for a ticket for her father to join her in the USA with plans to bring the entire family over in due course.

James boarded the Titanic at Queenstown as a third class passenger.

James Kelly did not survive the sinking.

His family back in Ireland struggled financially in the wake of his death and were assisted by various relief funds. They joined Margaret Kelly in New Haven later in 1912, on a voyage paid for by the White Star Line.

August Wennerstrom (27)

Third ClassStatus: Survived

Mr August Wennerström (August Edvard Andersson), 27, was Born 24 April 1884, the son of Knut Andersson and Elna Månsdotter. He was a journalist, typographer and socialist activist living in Malmö, Sweden.

His socialist activities included the publication, in 1905, of "Gula Faran" (the yellow danger) and thereafter he was known under that nickname. The paper, which described the King Oscar II as "King of thieves" was not appreciated by the authorities. Confiscation and charges followed. Wennerström himself was acquitted but he decided to emigrate in 1912. He bought himself a ticket in Copenhagen, to conceal his identity he took the name of his friend, later Minister of defense, Ivar Vennerström's name but spelt with a W. He boarded the Titanic at Southampton.

On board the Titanic he got in company with other Swedes traveling via Esbjerg, among them Carl Olof Jansson and Gunnar Isidor Tenglin with whom he shared a cabin.

After the collision Wennerström took some Swedish girls to the boats, he then returned to steerage As the Titanic went down he met Alma Pålsson and her children. He tried to hold on to two of the children, but lost them when they came into the water. He and Tenglin also found Edvard and Elin Lindell of Helsingborg, Sweden, who were part of the surge of steerage passengers who appeared on the Boat Deck in the ship's final moments. As the ship sank the group struggled up the sloping deck until it was too steep and, clasping hands, they slid back down close to collapsible A. Wennerström recounted that even though he was quite close to the ship, he detected no suction as it descended.

Once the ship went under Wennerström and Lindell climbed into the boat.

August recounted waiting in the lifeboat:
"All the feeling had left us. If we wanted to know if we still had legs (or any other part) left, we had to feel down in the water with our hand. The only exercise we got was when someone gave up hope and died, whom we immediately threw overboard to give the live ones a little more space and at the same time lighten the weight of the boat."

Crew

Archie Jewell (23)

Crew Status: Survived

Mr Archibald "Archie" Jewell, was born on 4 December 1888.

At about age 15 he went to sea, initially serving on sailing ships. By 1904 he had joined the White Star Line and was living in College Street, Southampton. He first served aboard Oceanic for about 7-8 years during which time he married Bessie Heard, also a native of Bude and lived with her in Bitterne Park, Southampton, Hampshire. From Oceanic he transferred to Titanic as one of the 6 lookout men. He signed-on the Titanic on 6 April 1912.

On the night of 14 April 1912 he had worked the 8pm to 10pm shift with George Symons of Weymouth, Dorset and was in his berth when the ship struck the iceberg at 11.40pm (had the ship not struck the iceberg his next watch period would have been 2am to 4am). He was one of the first to leave the ship in lifeboat 7 at 12.45pm. It left from the starboard side with 28 people on board, the capacity was 65.

The lifeboat reached the Carpathia at 5.10am. The ship subsequently arrived in New York at Pier 54 in the evening of Thursday 18 April. By 9.35pm the Carpathia was moored and the crew and passengers began to disembark.

Archie was the first of the survivors to testify at the British Inquiry, and also earned a rare word of thanks from Lord Mersey for his answers to a lengthy series of questions.

Members of Jewell's family believe he later served aboard, and survived the sinking of, the Britannic along with fellow Titanic veterans John Priest and Violet Jessop.

Harold Godfrey Lowe (29)

Crew Status: Survived

Mr Harold Godfrey Lowe was born on 21 November 1882 in Eglwys Rhos, Conwy, Wales.

Lowe had been 14 years at sea, starting when he ran away from home at the age of 14. His father offered him an apprenticeship but "I was not going to work for anybody for nothing...I wanted to be paid for my labour." After five years serving along the West African coast, he joined The White Star Line, only fifteen months prior to joining the Titanic.

He had served as Third Officer on both the Belgic and the Tropic; this was his first trip on the North Atlantic. On the day of Titanic's trials, he and the other three junior officers took an inventory of the lifeboats and found them completely stocked and ready. Later, at the US Senate Hearings, when asked to be more specific about this, he replied "I could no more tell you that than fly." He did recall that he and Sixth Officer Moody were sent away with crews in two lifeboats - they rowed to the dock and back again.

On April 14th, at noon, Lowe helped chart the Titanic's course. That night, he had gone to his cabin between 8:15 and 8:30 and was soon asleep. Some time later, "I was awakened by hearing voices...and I realized there must be something the matter." He quickly dressed and went out on deck, where he saw a lot of passengers wearing lifebelts and crew members readying the lifeboats. By this time, the Titanic was 'tipping by the bow'. "I should say she was 12 to 15 degrees by the head.", he would later report. Lowe began to assist people into the starboard lifeboat 5 - First Officer Murdoch was overseeing this section at the time. In preparing and loading the lifeboats: "It takes two (crewmen) at each winch. And then there were two jumped in each boat,...clearing the falls (lines) and you can roughly estimate it at ten men (to launch each lifeboat)". It was about this time he ordered White Star President J. Bruce Ismay to get out of his way, saying, "If you will get the Hell out of that then I shall be able to do something! Do you want me to lower away quickly? You will have me drown the whole lot of them." He later stated that Ismay was there only to help as he was anxious to to get the people away

"We filled 14 and 16 with women and children; I filled 14, he filled 16." Lowe put 58 people in his boat, "All women and children, bar one passenger, who was an Italian and he sneaked in and he was dressed like a woman - he had a shawl over his head. I only found out at the last moment." He took another male passenger, Charles Eugene Williams, to help with the oars. (From Lowe's notebook: "C. Williams, Racket Champion of the World, No. 2 Drury Lane, Middlesex, England." Also, other person's addresses who were in his boat: "Mrs A. T. Compton and Miss S. R. Compton, Laurel House, Lakehurst, N. J."). When lifeboat 14 reached the water, Lowe had his crew row off about 150 yards from the Titanic. There he 'herded together' five boats and redistributed the passengers from his into the other boats, 12, 10, a collapsible and another boat (he could not recall it's number.) After the cries from the people in the water had subsided a bit he deemed it safe to return to pick up survivors. "You could not do otherwise because you would have hundreds of people around your boat and you would go down." He then asked for volunteers to go back with him - this was when he discovered the 'Italian' (later identified as a foreigner, not necessarily an Italian). "I caught hold of him and pitched him in (a lifeboat tied to his)". Along with his volunteers, he then rowed back to the wreckage and picked up 4 survivors

Harold Lowe remained at sea but never achieved a command in the merchant service. He was made a commander in the Royal Naval Reserve during the first World War.

John Maxwell (29)

Crew Status: Perished

John Maxwell was born in 1882 in Walton, Liverpool, Lancashire, England. He was the son of Andrew Maxwell (1849-1895) and Ellen Day (1856-1939). His father was Scottish by birth and his mother was from Liverpool and they had married in 1872. John had five siblings: Agnes (b. 1876), Ellen (b. 1879), Annie (b. 1880), Mary (b. 1885) and Andrew (b. 1887).

ohn was married in Walton in 1908 to Ada Sarah Webster (b. 1880 in Litherland, Lancashire). He is absent from the 1911 census but his wife is listed as living at Malvern, Victoria Road, Bitterne, Southampton, Hampshire and the couple are childless at this time. Their only child Dorothy was born on 25 May 1911.

On the night of the collision, John was one of the party of crew, including Captain Smith, Chief Officer Wilde, Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall and Thomas Andrews, to inspect the damage inflicted by the iceberg.

Maxwell died in the sinking. He was remembered on the headstone of his father, mother and sister Agnes in Kirkdale Cemetery, Fazakerley, Liverpool.

"ALSO JOHN, ELDEST SON OF THE ABOVE WHO WAS DROWNED THROUGH THE FOUNDERING OF THE SS TITANIC APRIL 14th 1912 AGED 29 YEARS"

Henry Tingle Wilde (39)

Crew Status: Perished

Mr Henry Tingle Wilde, 39, was born 21 September, 1872. He grew up in Walton, Liverpool and went to sea as a young man serving his apprenticeship on the sailing vessels of Messrs. James Chambers & Co., Liverpool. After gaining his second mate's certificate, he joined the Maranhan Steamship Company as a second officer. He soon obtained his masters certificate, and joined the White Star Line as a junior officer.

His wife had died on 24 December, 1910 and their twin sons died in infancy, also in December 1910. Some sources indicate that they died from Scarlet Fever. Wilde had four surviving children: Jane, Harry, Arnold and Nancy and a sister Mrs Williams

Wilde served on a number of White Star Line ships, mainly in the Liverpool to New York, and Australian routes. In 1911 he became Chief Officer of the Olympic and was aboard that vessel, under the command of Captain Edward John Smith, when she was in collision with H.M.S. Hawke on 20 September, 1911.

Wilde only signed onto the Titanic on 9 April, 1912 and reported for duty at 6 am on 10 April, the day of sailing. When Captain Smith came aboard at about 7.30 am he received sailing reports from all his senior officers. Wilde reported the condition of equipment, stores and the readiness of public areas and staterooms. Prior to sailing, as the pilot came aboard, Wilde and Lightoller were stationed on the forecastle supervising the boatswains dealing with hawsers and moorings.

In a letter to his sister, posted at Queenstown, Wilde gave some indication that he had misgivings about the new ship:
"I still don't like this ship... I have a queer feeling about it."

At 2 pm on 14 April he relieved William Murdoch on the Bridge, perhaps they discussed the proximity of ice; about a quarter of an hour beforehand the Baltic had transmitted an ice warning telling of icebergs in the path of the Titanic. Wilde's watch was uneventful, no change in the ship's speed was ordered in spite of the signal, perhaps it was never even seen on the bridge, Captain Smith having given it to Bruce Ismay earlier in the day. At 6 pm Second Officer Lightoller relieved Wilde. The Chief gave Lightoller the speed and course and departed. No further warnings of ice had been received during his watch.

shortly after the Titanic collided with an iceberg Wilde was passing close to the bow, there he found the Bosun Albert Haines and Lamp Trimmer Samuel Hemmings who said they could hear air escaping from the tank and that water was getting in but that the storeroom was dry. Wilde went up to report this to the bridge. He then joined Captain Smith and Thomas Andrews on a brief inspection to see the extent of the damage.

Wilde took charge of the even numbered boats, those on the port side. Quartermaster Olliver recalled being sent by Wilde to find the boatswain and tell him to uncover the lifeboats and make them ready for lowering. He gave similar instructions to Lightoller, teling the second officer to have the boats uncovered. Lights asked if hands had been called, Wilde replied that they had. He then asked if the boats should be swung out yet, Wilde said "no, wait" but at that moment Captain Smith came past and Lightoller asked him, Smith replied "Yes, Swing out." Perhaps Wilde was trying to avert panic but he was being over-cautious, Lightoller had been shipwrecked before and may have been more realistic about the necessity to get the boats loaded and lowered.

Wilde is little mentioned in survivor recollections of the sinking and his activities remain something of a mystery. What is certain is that he worked diligently to load the boats once the seriousness of the situation was clear to him. Wilde is little mentioned in survivor recollections of the sinking and his activities remain something of a mystery. What is certain is that he worked diligently to load the boats once the seriousness of the situation was clear to him.

George Beauchamp (24)

Crew Status: Survived

George William Beauchamp was born in Totton, Eling, Hampshire, England on 9 March 1888.

George signed onto the Titanic working as a fireman. At the time of the collision George was on duty and described the impact a being like a "roar of thunder." He was then ordered to shut the dampers just as the watertight doors began to close off. After a few minutes he was ordered to draw the fires by which point water was starting to come into the stokehold around his feet. George made his way topside and positioned himself on the aft starboard boatdeck where he assisted women and children into the boats. He was ordered into lifeboat 13 when asked by an officer if he could handle an oar. He described the difficulty in getting boat 13 clear of the ship due to the discharge from the ship's exhaust. George's boat was later picked up by the Carpathia around 9.30 am.

George Beauchamp continued to work at sea into the 1920s and beyond and later served on the Cape Mail boats for the Union Line as a leading fireman. Upon leaving the sea he worked at the docks in Southampton and latterly with Kennedy's Builders Merchants in Commercial Road where he befriended Titanic survivor Bertram Vere Dean.

Ernest Frederick Allen (24)

Mr Ernest Frederick Allen was born in Lambeth, London, England on 10 February 1888.

He normally worked as a fireman but on the Titanic he was employed as a trimmer. He had previously served on the Olympic. Also serving aboard, as a lift steward, was his brother Frederick.

Later accounts suggest that Ernest, at the time of the disaster, went below decks searching for his younger brother but in vain.

Ernest survived the sinking, managing to climb aboard the upturned collapsible B. He was rescued by Carpathia and returned home from New York aboard Lapland and was not called to testify and either the US or British inquiries into the sinking. He returned to working at sea.